Intellectual Property Attorney - UKIFS Ltd.

Company Description

The UK Government has established UK Industrial Fusion Solutions (UKIFS) Ltd., a subsidiary of UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), to lead the charge in delivering fusion energy through design and delivery of the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) prototype fusion plant. UKIFS is establishing itself, setting up the company, attracting talent, engaging with industry, developing a supply chain, and planning and constructing of the STEP prototype. Fusion energy, crucial for combating climate change and ensuring energy independence, is expected to be commercially viable by mid-century. The UK, led by UKIFS, aims for a prototype fusion plant, targeting first operations around 2040. UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd. will lead delivery, collaborating with industrial partners and building a fusion supply chain with an estimated global sector value of £7tn per year. Join UKIFS and the STEP programme to be involved in this ground-breaking journey.

As an employee of UKIFS, you will benefit from:

• Outstanding defined benefit pension scheme.
• Corporate bonus scheme up to 7% and a relocation allowance (if eligible).
• Flexible working options including family friendly policies and the right to request flexible working from the start of your employment.
• Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders.
• Generous annual leave allowance starting with 25 days, plus 3 days Christmas closure and 2.5 privilege days, in addition to UK bank holidays.
• Wide range of career development opportunities.
• A vibrant culture committed to being fully inclusive.

The salary for this role is £66,436, and our hybrid working policy/onsite working is expected for 3 days each week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working. Employees of UKIFS can be based at any of our following sites: Culham, Oxfordshire or Rotherham, Yorkshire or West Burton, Nottinghamshire.

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data.

Job Description

STEP is a bold and ambitious programme, and we are developing pioneering new technologies in order to achieve the goal. We are generating considerable intellectual property which we will use to inspire and enable the fusion industry, strengthening the UK’s leadership in the industry. As the programme progresses and our whole plant partners come on board, you will have responsibility for leading on a range of intellectual property matters generated by one of the STEP technology streams.

The role involves identifying, protecting and managing IP generated by the STEP technology stream, performing landscape and risk analysis, and advising the technology and engineering teams on all aspects of intellectual property.

Key Accountabilities

• Client Counselling

• Advise technologists and engineers on IP matters.
• Ensure that IP decisions are made in alignment with the IP strategy, always leading to best for programme outcomes.
• Develop collaborative relationships with technical and engineering teams.
• Act as the go-to person for the specific technology stream.

• Engage with project teams to support the identification of potentially protectable intellectual property.
• Advise on protection options aligned with the IP strategy.
• Support the capture of intellectual property and records in the IP register.
• Determine patentability of protectable inventions.
• Draft and prosecute patent applications and/or engage with external counsel to support the drafting and prosecution of patent applications.
• Identify suitable IP commercialisation opportunities and engage the innovation technology transfer team to enable and drive commercialisation of the IP assets.
• Produce IP register report documenting and communicating IP portfolio growth, value, and commercialisation opportunities.

• Perform landscape and freedom to operate searching or engage with external expert search services to achieve same.
• Review and assess landscape search results, prioritising, and mapping relevance, and communicating the results to the technology workstream.
• Identify intellectual property risk, analyse potential impact on the programme and generate a freedom to operate opinion with support of external counsel where necessary.
• Communicate potential IP risk and management strategy with stakeholders.

• Develop an annual IP portfolio management process, set and agree KPIs with technology workstream stakeholders.
• Define and control an annual technology stream IP budget.
• Manage the intellectual property portfolio in alignment with the IP and technology transfer strategy, always leading to best for programme outcomes.

• Prepare and deliver a suite of IP training materials suitable for different levels of experience with the technology workstream.
• Respond to additional IP training requests, as necessary.
• Manage IP training register.

The above is not intended to be an exhaustive list of activities and you may be required to undertake other reasonable tasks or duties requested.

Qualifications

Essential:

• Patent Attorney UK and/or European qualified with PQE.
• Proven experience advising clients (technologists and engineers) and managing intellectual property matters.
• Demonstrable experience in invention identification and capture, prior art review and assessment.
• Extensive patent drafting and prosecution experience.
• Experience managing an IP portfolio ensuring alignment to the IP strategy, generating breadth, and controlling cost; producing concise, informative reports for stakeholders.
• Experience working as the IP expert in a matrix and project-based environment, and with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• The ability to build, collaborate and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders, ranging from technical to executive.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and strategic thinking skills.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, priority setting and attention to detail.
• Strong technical background with a degree in Scientific or Engineering discipline.

Desirable

• Experience managing IP matters in an industry setting.
• IP risk assessment, freedom to operate analysis and opinion generation.
• High quality Prior art, landscape and freedom to operate searching.

Additional Information

A full list of our benefits can be found here. We welcome talented people from all backgrounds who want to help us achieve our mission. We encourage applications from under-represented groups, particularly from women in STEM, people from Black British Caribbean and African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi British, and other ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities, and neurotypical individuals. Our Executive team, supported by our 'Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' (EDI) and Wellbeing and our EDI Networks actively promote Inclusion and takes steps to increase diversity within our organisation. We reinforce best practices in recruitment and selection and evaluate approaches to remove barriers to success.

Please note that vacancies are generally advertised for 4 weeks but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications.

For applicants applying from outside the United Kingdom or those who have spent time outside the UK in the last five years, please visit the following link for information on criminal records checks: If your country of residence or previous residence is not listed on the website or if the UK Government does not have information on obtaining a criminal records check from that state, we regret to inform you that we cannot process your application.